Potato pie with carrots & marjoram

Ever since I bought that bunch of marjoram some days ago, I couldn´t get the image of a Palatinate Saumagen out of my head: this traditional, hearty German dish from the Southwest region is a potatoes, marjoram, bacon and sausage meat stuffed pig´s stomach that is first poached, then oven roasted for hours. My mother and grandmother prepared it every once in a while for all the family – quite an elaborate endeavour requiring everybody´s helping hands in the kitchen to peel and dice lots and lots of potatoes, slice the bacon, chop the herbs and stuff the infinite cavity with an enormous amount of ingredients. It took at least half a day, but then, what an event when after an eternity of waiting this impressive dish took center stage on the table, the scent of marjoram filling the air!

These herb perfumed pictures were before my eyes, yet I wanted something very different, much lighter, but still powerful enough to stand the marjoram´s intense herby flavor. So potatoes of course, but hardly any meat, instead carrots for a little spring color and sweetness, all embedded in an eggy nutmeg flavored pillow and wrapped in golden puff pastry. Uniting my favorite elements of both a quiche and a pie, there was it, a “pieche”, so to speak, proud offspring of a Palatinate pig´s stomach and a French savory tart.
Whatever works!

Slice bacon and spring onion and fry until crisp and slightly browned.

Slice potatoes and carrots as thinly as possible, using a mandolin slicer or vegetable peeler, about 1mm thin (the carrots can be slightly thicker than the potatoes). Season lightly with salt. Mix with bacon and spring onion and set aside.

Chop marjoran, grate the cheese and add to vegetables and bacon.

In a large bowl, whisk 3 eggs with mustard and cream. Season with salt, pepper and and a generous amount of ground nutmeg.

Line a baking mould with parchment paper and puff pastry. Arrange vegetable filling, pour eggs and cover with a circle of puff pastry. Seal edges and brush surface with egg wash. Sprinkle sesame seeds all over. Cut out a small hole in the middle, allowing steam to evaporate.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60-70 minutes at 200°C, perhaps cover with parchment paper towards the end if the puff pastry browns too much.

Change of plans, I have to squeeze this in this week somehow! I love a good weeknight pie, even better when it is a good meat-free one and the Saumagen heritage sounds super interesting (not that I’ve ever had one, yet – I think we are always driving through the Saumagen heartland). Mensch, jetzt habe ich aber HUNGER… N xx

Your pieche is a work of art! I love everything about it: the ingredients, the texture and the consistency. If I close my eyes I can even taste it in my mouth! Wonderful pics (especially the last one)! 😍

Sabine, your potato pie looks stunning! I love marjoram (one of my favorite herbs) and your delicate decorations on the top of the pie. Plus, as always your food photography is brilliant. Wonderfully done all the way 🙂

Wow, this looks so good! I rarely see fresh marjoram for sale here and I don’t have anywhere to grow my own. I grew up with it, though, and the taste would take me right back to my childhood, I’m sure. Love the recipe.

Thank you, Karinna!Marjoram has a childhood smell and taste for me as well, combined with potatoes and the said pig´s stomach! Maybe you spot it some time and feel like trying the recipe. Have a lovely day & week, S.

I guess it would work well with potatoes alone. But my little one, she´s 9 months, loves to nibble on a carrot, so I always have some at home. It adds a little color to the pie, and also a little sweetness, that´s why I thought it was a good match.
Thank you for your lovely comment, and have a nice remaining week! Sabine.